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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26142133">A Royal Visitor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy_little_trees3/pseuds/happy_little_trees3'>happy_little_trees3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abused Harry, F/M, M/M, Merlin is magic, Self-Doubt, TW for mentions of abuse, Time Travel, arthur isn't a dick about magic, children freak out, discussion of abuse, do they blush?, get this bitch therapy, harry is an angsty boy in ootp isn't he?, heavy cussing, hogwarts shenangians, i own no filter, no beta we die like lancelot, no regrets, not for a while though, not originally my work, older brother figure gwaine, self-deprecations, they be blushing, we fixing that, whoop we in the future, will update as we go - Freeform, you asked for gay, you get the gay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:53:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26142133</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy_little_trees3/pseuds/happy_little_trees3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a mysterious surge of magic brings the King of Camelot (as well as his manservant and some of his knights) to the Hogwarts of the future, the story changes a little from what you know it as. From pitiful DADA teachers to conspiring Dark Lords and a self-defense class taught by knights, what does this time have in store? </p><p>Set during OOTP, Merlin wise it's up to interpretation. That story line isn't in as much focus as the Harry Potter one will be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>(both pending but endgame ships regardless), Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>130</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>427</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202445">No One Should Entrust A Kingdom To Twenty-Something-Year-Old Himbos</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songbird_Concoctions/pseuds/Songbird_Concoctions">Songbird_Concoctions</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was inspired by Artsynerd_Withnolifes fic "No One Should Entrust A Kingdom To Twenty-Something-Year-Old Himbos". I have permission from them to continue it and use some of their original writing.<br/>Some small things were changed to better fit my writing style and how I want the story to be told, and this first chapter is the only one that contains their work. After this it's all me. If later chapters feel different this is why.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The knights of Camelot heartily disturbed the general peace of the forest. Tensions had been high for the entire court of Camelot in the past two weeks and finally the king and his council were able to let off some steam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The visiting Lord Garron had recently departed from the kingdom. He was head of an embassy to coordinate some peace treaties and an alliance between Camelot and the Kingdom of Elmet.</span>
  <span> Elmet's policies were stricter than even Uther's had been, and Lord Garron more of a bigot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>King Arthur himself had been battling frustrated outbursts but peace was vital and he had managed to refrain from outbursts until alone in his rooms with his friend and confidant Merlin, who just happened to be his manservant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin, too, had been pushed around and used to his wit's end by Garron, who had the utmost contempt for common folk, so on the whole everyone was glad to be rid of the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, the king had organized a hunting party consisting of his closest friends as soon as possible. Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Elyan, and Lancelot attended at his side as they made their way through the forest, Merlin bringing up the rear. It was as the knights had fallen again into peals of laughter (Gwaine had fallen spectacularly after trying to grab a passing branch from on top of his horse) that Merlin's skin prickled with a familiar but unwelcome feeling. His expression darkened as he let out a sigh. Arthur, riding ahead, cut off abruptly and looked over with something like concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on Merlin, don't tell me you're getting a damned 'feeling’ now,” he said, perhaps with more annoyance than concern but even Arthur had learned by this point to pay attention to Merlin's feelings; too many coincidences had built up for even Arthur to ignore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Afraid so. We should move in a different direction. The land ahead is sacred to the Druids. Who knows what we’d stumble into.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur scowled and let out a muttered curse but all the same made to call back his knights and turn around. Before he could speak, however, a crackling energy surrounded the group. Tendrils of blue and gold light surrounded the knights, who drew their swords. Merlin thought he could hear chanting in the distance and made to counter the spell, but before he could act the pressure built up and the knights of the round table were whisked away to a place unknown to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin gave a silent obituary for his chest as about five hunks of chain and plate armor fell on top of him and robbed him of his air, and could only be relieved that the horses seemed to not have come with them as well. Merlin was pinned between a rock and a hard place as the knights scrambled confusedly in an attempt to untangle themselves. Literally, it seemed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin's senses slowly returned to him and he felt cool flagstones under his palms, worn smooth by footfalls. As Percival finally heaved himself up, and Merlin could finally breathe, the warlock became aware of their surroundings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Voices filled the air in the form of his companions’ confused talk and a hundred half-whispered voices to his left. He turned towards these and laid eyes upon countless uniformed children chattering with each other, seated at four banquet tables. Through the myriad of voices Merlin couldn't make out any familiar words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning to check on his king he saw on the other side of this huge chamber a high table. The elderly king, sat on a gilded chair, had ridiculously long, snow white hair and a pair of half-moon spectacles. He was adorned in spectacular magenta robes embroidered with gold. At his right hand was an aged woman with graying black hair and emerald robes who had a formidable steel to her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Along the rest of the table were other adults, their dress in varying states of formality, and all looking at the seven trespassers that had formed out of nothing. By this point the knights had settled down but had picked up their swords from where they had fallen and faced the high table; Percival and Elyan were each half turned to the common tables. Gwaine grabbed Merlin's arm and dragged the thin man into the middle of the group. Arthur spoke out authoritatively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Might I know whom I am speaking to? And for what reason were my companions and I were brought before you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other Lord stood from his chair and showed himself to be a towering figure. He spoke out, but his language held few similar words to that of Camelot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sensing the non understanding of his guests the Lord acted, though he acted peculiarly. His withered hand raised a thin and straight stick which he pointed at them and twirled delicately. The six armed men postured themselves as they faced panic from sudden deafness and the aspect of their tongues tying themselves in knots. In half a moment though, the sensations passed and the old king again:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Please, present yourselves, strangers. Are you friends or foe? And how did you come to be here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was to their shock that while the wizened man spoke the same unfamiliar language, it was understood to them. Each of them knew the man's act to be sorcery. The knights tensed, preparing for a fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am King Arthur of Camelot, and these are my knights,” and almost as an afterthought, he added, “and this is my manservant, Merlin. Pray, who are you and what kingdom is this?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chaos broke out. The children at the tables began yelling over each other, demanding to be heard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Impossible!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>The </span>
  </em>
  <span>Merlin? He’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>manservant?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought King Arthur was a Muggle </span>
  <em>
    <span>myth!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Must be a prank by the Weasley twins.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That tall one is kinda fit-think he's single?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ENOUGH!” The king at the head table said, his voice projecting over the hall. The children fell silent, listening to his words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin suddenly realized that the pressure on his chest was not completely gone. He thought it an aftereffect of having six knights on his chest at once, perhaps a broken rib, but it seemed to be building, like a dam was built up in his chest. The flames of the candles on (and </span>
  <em>
    <span>above) </span>
  </em>
  <span>the tables rose, reacting to his magic.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Magic. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>This place, wherever they were, was full of it. He recognized the feeling, something similar to the crystal caverns but almost ten times as potent and so </span>
  <em>
    <span>different. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It reached out to him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>calling</span>
  </em>
  <span> to him, enveloping him-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the last thought he had before he collapsed.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Healers Apprentice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>New revelations shake the King of Camelot, as well as the Wizards of Hogwarts.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm back!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Arthur watched as Merlin collapsed, his body starting to spasm. The other knights immediately went on guard, as if they weren’t before. But now, it was personal. One of their own had fallen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percival quickly knelled down, trying to hold Merlin down. Gwaine was on the man's other side, doing the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What have you done?” yelled Leon, “Undo it at once!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The king sitting at the head table left his position, walking briskly around the table. He was followed by a stern looking woman in green robes, another woman in white ones, and a man in completely black robes who seemed to terrify all the children he passed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other knights raised their swords against the adults, preparing to defend Merlin from whatever the sorcerers intended to do to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have done nothing,” said the other king, slowing his pace. “This is Madam Pomfrey,” he continued, pointing to the woman in white. “She is our resident healer and can help your friend. I swear on my magic that we mean no harm to you, and only wish to help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other knights looked to Arthur for direction. Merlin's spasms had stopped, but he was still unconscious and had suffered from them in the first place. Arthur had felt...</span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>when the man swore on Magic, and he knew it to be true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will accompany you, and you shall not be left alone with him.” He said, sheathing his sword. He motioned for the knights to do the same, and noted with pride that while they obeyed, they did not let down their guard. Good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other king turned to the assembled children, and with a wave of his arms said, “Please return to your dormitories. Things will be explained at breakfast tomorrow morning.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percival picked up Merlin, and the group started towards the doors, the knights flanking Percival and keeping the sorcerers in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The healer, Madam Pomfrey, motioned to a boy who had been sitting at one of the tables who sprung up and followed them as they made their way through the castle. He had dark, wild hair that barely covered up a scar that crisscrossed along the left side of his face. Arthur wondered what had happened to the boy, to cause such an injury. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Poppy, why is Mr. Potter accompanying us?” asked the woman in green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He's signed on to be my apprentice this year Minerva. As he's the only one I have currently, and I’ll likely need some help, he’ll be coming with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other king did not seem to like this, as his frown deepened and the mirth in his eyes disappeared. Arthur wondered why he would be upset that the child would want to learn healing-it was a noble art, and Arthur wouldn’t be caught saying otherwise for fear of retaliation from Gaius.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were led through the castle, through winding halls and </span>
  <em>
    <span>moving staircases</span>
  </em>
  <span>, until finally they reached a large room with rows of beds and sets of windows showing what Arthru believed to be an open meadow and the nearby woods, though it was hard to tell in the dark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percival layed Merlin down on one of the beds, and a curtain was drawn around it. The Healer had a hushed conversation with her apprentice, who ran towards some cupboards and began rummaging around. Percival and Gwaine followed the Matron to the other side of the curtain to make sure nothing happened to Merlin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So!” said the other king, with a clap of his hands. The mirth had returned to his eyes, and he faced Arthur with a smile. “You’ve no idea how you ended up here, do you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur shook his head. “No. We were in the middle of a hunt before unfamiliar magic brought us to your castle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm. Well, King Arthur of Camelot, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! My name is Albus Dumbldore, and I am the Headmaster here. This is Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape, both of whom are Professors here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is a school?” Elyan said with a frown, “For sorcery?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knights were all giving him nervous glances. They knew where Camelot, and its king, stood on magic and sorcerers. That they were brought to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>school </span>
  </em>
  <span>for such a thing was...concerning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Indeed!” said the headmaster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kingdom does this school reside in? How far are we from Camelot?” Arthur asked, hoping they were at least allied with the kingdom where this school resided. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” said Dumbledore, “That is a bit complicated. Have a seat and we can figure out what shall be done with you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry didn’t expect things to go wrong this early in the school year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Usually, things started to try to kill him around May or June. Last year was the exception since he didn’t seem to get a </span>
  <em>
    <span>break </span>
  </em>
  <span>from things trying to kill him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But usually things were still ok on the first day back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The strangers had appeared out of nowhere, just materializing in the middle of the Great Hall in a pile. After the Headmaster had done some spell to change the language they spoke into English, the entire student body erupted into chaos as one of the strangers said that he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>King Arthur of Camelot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry couldn’t stop as he curled into himself, his arms covering his head and ears, trying to block out the noise. He felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder, grounding him. It was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>loud, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and even though the last part of his summer was spent with Sirius, he was still trying to break the habits he had developed from living with the Dursleys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ron was giving him a pitiful look from across the table, and Harry was grateful for both his friends' support and the Headmasters shouted command that silenced the student body. He was still shaking a little, but the noise was gone so it would be ok. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Probably. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, he was still shaking a little, but it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He’d had worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the strangers fainted, and started spasming. Harry saw Madam Pomfrey rush down from the head table with the Headmaster and Professors McGonagall and Snape. After an argument with the newcomers, they left the Great Hall for the Hospital Wing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But not before Madam Pomfrey gestured at him to follow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry hadn’t wanted to be a Healer. He’d had his mind set on being an Auror for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but after what happened last year, well-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was tired of watching people get hurt. He wanted to help people, sure, but not by hurting </span>
  <em>
    <span>others</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Being a Healer seemed like a good option.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Harry genuinely enjoyed it. When he asked Madam Pomfrey about it after the third task, she had given him some books to look over during the summer. Harry had never been much of a bookworm, but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>reading through the medical texts. He was pretty confident that he could spend the rest of his life doing this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, after promising Ron and Hermione that he would explain later, he got up and ran after the group. There wasn’t much conversation as they made their way up to the Hospital Wing, aside from McGonagall asking why he was there. Dumbledore didn’t look happy, and Harry wasn’t sure why. Was there something wrong with him wanting to be a Healer?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, they arrived at their destination. One of the knights placed the unconscious man on a bed, and Madam Pomfrey drew the curtains around him. He wasn’t spasming anymore, but that didn’t mean he was ok.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Potter, could you please fetch some Wiggenweld and Skele-Gro from the cupboards? And put on the apprentice robes if they’re there, just the outer one for now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry nodded and ran over to the cupboard. He found the outer rode and shrugged it on, placing his Gryffindor ones on a nearby bed. The apprentice robes were white with a caduceus on the breast where the Gryffindor crest was on his normal robes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry knew why Madam Pomfrey wanted each of the potions: Wiggenweld would heal anything basic-possibly whatever was causing the spasms. And the mystery man had hit his head when he had fallen, so the Skele-Gro was for any potential injuries to his skull.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally found the green bottle of Wiggenweld and the skull-shaped bottle of Skele-Gro and ran back over to where Madam Pomfrey was, maneuvering around the curtains. He felt a spell wash over him, likely the silencing spells on the curtains to protect patients' privacy (See Hermione, he read books!).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you dear,” Madam Pomfrey said, taking the potions from him and setting them on the table next to the bed. “Right then,” she said, turning to the two knights who had come in with them. “I’m going to perform a spell that will show me what's wrong with him. A copy of his body will glow above the real one, and different areas will be different colors depending on what's wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knights didn’t move to stop her, so with a wave of her wand and a muttered spell Madam Pomfrey performed the diagnosis charm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except...it didn’t look right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry remembered reading in the book that, when performed on a witch or wizard, the spell would show a blue blob in the chest to represent their magical core. But this guy-his whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>body</span>
  </em>
  <span> was glowing blue, like his core extended throughout his whole person. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If this reading was right, whoever was on the bed was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely </span>
  </em>
  <span>powerful wizard. But...no one had </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>much magic. It couldn’t be right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Could it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madam Pomfrey seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because she cancelled and recast the spell with a frown. The results were the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Potter, do you think you could cast this spell? I think something may be wrong with my wand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry nodded, and with a step forward cast it as well. The results were the same. </span>
</p><p><span>“That's-what on Earth…?” He turned to Madam Pomfrey. “Maybe we could try giving him the Wiggenweld? That could stop whatever's going on...”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“I’m not sure this is...cancel the spell. I want to try something.” </span></p><p>
  <span>Harry did as he was told, and watched as Madam Pomfrey cast another spell, this time showing not only the blue magical core, but some gold strands of magic wrapped around it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There we go.” Madam Pomfrey said with a smile. “Your friend will be fine. Let's discuss it with the others. I’d rather only do it once.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knights followed Madam Pomfrey and Harry out of the little space set aside for their friend and headed towards the others. The knights rejoined King Arthur and the others, who all seemed to be in a state of shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re in the future?” asked one of them, his mouth open wide. Apparently someone had explained to them what was going on, or at least what little they knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” asked one of the ones that had come with Harry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Later.” said King Arthur. “What's wrong with him?” he asked, turning to Madam Pomfrey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing at all.” Madam Pomfrey said, gently setting her hand on the Kings shoulder. “He’ll be fine. The magic of the castle reacted with his when you arrived, and it went a bit overboard. It happens sometimes when large sources of unfamiliar magic are brought in, but it's usually never in a person.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While she attempted to be calming in her statement, it appeared to have an opposite effect on the knights, especially the king.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He...he’s a sorcerer?” he said, shock written across his face. “You must be mistaken. Merlin isn’t-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sire,” said one of the knights, completely oblivious to the shocked looks on the faces of the others. “Sire you must understand, he wanted to tell you but he feared for his life-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gwaine, you knew?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knight flinched. “I-yes. Please understand, he never meant you or the kingdom any harm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough.” the king stood, not making any eye contact with the knights or the assembled wizards. Harry couldn’t help but think that the king looked like a kicked puppy. “We will discuss this later. Where will we be staying?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll-I’ll show you to your quarters.” Professor McGonagall said, still in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, Harry thought why wouldn’t she? Because apparently, Merlin the Great was at Hogwarts with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was definitely not going to be a quiet year.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What did you think? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Lion and The Knight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gwaine gets yelled at, then thinks its a swell idea to explore the magic castle in the middle of the night. Hes not the only one awake, and a bond is formed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ayyy guess whos not dead.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Gwaine was fairly certain that the moment they were alone, Arthur would be yelling at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Loudly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The stern looking woman in green, McGonagall he thinks, trying to remember the brief introductions that were given earlier, is leading them through the castle past moving portraits and suits of armor. The entire place is full of magic, and Gwaine isn’t as scared as he should be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was because he was around Merlin so much that magic didn’t scare him, unless the person using it was actively trying to kill him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, she stopped in front of a portrait of an elegant woman, clothed in a long, silver dress. Her hair was whiter than snow, and it matched her pale complexion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Merryweather.” greeted McGonagall. “These men will be staying in the chambers beyond your portrait. Is the password still the same?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is.” said the painting in a soft voice. Gwaine saw Percival jump out of the corner of his eye, and stifled a laugh. Apparently he hadn’t been paying attention to the other paintings they passed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guillotine,” McGonagall said, and the painting opened like a door revealing a large room beyond. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The word I just said is the password to these chambers. There should be enough room for you all. Someone will come by in the morning to discuss where we go from here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a nod Arthur dismissed the woman and walked into the room beyond. It was decorated in swathes of red and silver, with a few couches and chairs that looked like clouds. Gwaine immediately threw himself on one and relaxed with a sigh into the furniture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Retire for the night,” Arthur said, gesturing to doors along the walls that Gwaine assumed must lead to extra rooms. “Gwaine and I will take the first watch. I don’t trust these sorcerers yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other knights took their leave, and Gwaine sat up, averting his gaze from his king. He wasn’t stupid: he knew why he was serving the watch with Arthur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you tell me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine looked up, finally meeting Arthurs gaze. He had never seen the king this broken about something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He asked me not to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That shouldn’t have-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was afraid, sire, Uther would have-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Uther is not king!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am king,” Arthur said, sitting on the chair opposite Gwaine. “I am king. And he is one of my most trusted friends, and he couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell </span>
  </em>
  <span>me…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine fidgeted with his sleeve. How could he explain this to Arthur?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know how many times he has saved your life?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur looked up, confused. “Pardon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know how many times he has saved your life?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m not sure what you mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Coutless. He hasn’t told me of every instance, but there were many times when a bandit would have run you through, or a sorcerer ended your life had Merlin not been there. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust you sire. I think that he knows you wouldn’t have him killed, regardless of Camelots laws. It was because he wished to keep you safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur sighed. “I know. Deep down, I know that he kept the secret for good reasons. It hurts no less.” he stood and went to the door of one of the rooms, one that was not taken by another knight. “ Go to bed Gwaine. I trust these sorcerers enough not to kill us in our sleep,” he snorted, “I mean, did you see how they looked at Merlin earlier? I think that they think him some sort of </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight sire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Gwaine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gwaine did not go to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew damn well that Aurthur would probably put him in the stocks for this (did they have those here?) as they weren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>entirely </span>
  </em>
  <span>sure this wasn’t a plot to kill them, but curiosity got the better of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spent some time wandering around the castle, candle in hand to guide him along the dark halls. A few of the paintings offered greetings, which he returned with some uncertainty. The talking painting thing was...uncomfortable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps he would get used to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few of the rooms were likely used for the students' classes, as they had posters and such things hanging from the walls, as well as an interesting board with writing that it appeared could be removed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found his way back to the dining hall, now noticing the candles floating near the ceiling as well as a set of hourglasses at the back of the room, filled with four different colored jewels. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, Gwaine decided that he should probably return to their quarters. While he had yet to come across anyone, he would rather not face an angry sorcerer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After he came to this decision, he immediately regretted every other decision that he had made that night, for he was now lost in a giant-ass castle filled with sorcerers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So maybe it </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been a bad idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine sighed, and decided to keep wandering around, hoping he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>eventually </span>
  </em>
  <span>find his way back to the rooms. He passed a portrait of a rather gaudy lady in pink who huffed upon seeing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re one of the knights they say appeared tonight? They’re throwing a god-awful party tonight, honestly, I’ll never sleep at this rate. I’d avoid the area tonight if I were you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine nodded, and went on. As he was turning towards a set of stairs he </span>
  <em>
    <span>thought </span>
  </em>
  <span>he remembered, he heard someone crying. Gwaine turned, holding the candle high and placed his hand upon his sword, weary of the magic around him. Tricks like this were common, though in a building full of children he was inclined to believe it was just a distraught child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The light from the candle settled on a figure hunched in an alcove, shaking with the force of their sobs. Gwaine went forward, resting a hand on the figures shoulder. They promptly flinched back, revealing their face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the boy from the medical wing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy opened his mouth, trying to say something, but only managed to produce ragged breaths. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey there, steady breaths. Follow mine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine led him through the motions until the boy was breathing steadily. He sat on the floor opposite from him, making sure to give him a bit of space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” said the boy. “You really didn’t have to do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were in trouble,” Gwaine said with a grin. “Tis a knight's duty to help those in distress, no matter the circumstances.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy laughed. “Still.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why were you so upset?” Gwaine asked, hoping he wasn’t pushing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy sighed. “There's a party going on in my common room. It was really crowded, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>loud, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and everyone just kinda swarmed me the minute I got back because of what happened earlier and it was just too much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine laughed. “Well, you are certainly an interesting sorcerer, that's for sure. What's your name?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry Potter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sir Gwaine, at your service.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They talked for a little while longer, about what the school was like and how much the world had changed, and how Merlin was indeed revered as some sort of god here, which Gwaine had to laugh at.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He is not the type to take that lightly. He hates all of the ‘Almighty Emrys’ stuff he gets from the Druids.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s going to have an interesting time when he wakes up then.” Harry said with a chuckle. “I should head back, the party has probably calmed down a bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aye, a young man needs his sleep. Speaking of, do you know how to get to the painting of a woman named Merryweather? Our quarters are behind it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“White hair, silver dress?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that one!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Down the stairs three floors, take a right and she should be in that hallway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine smiled and stood, helping the young boy to his feet. “Thank you for your help, Harry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You too, Sir Gwaine.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Am I introducing the concept of Gwaine being a older brother figure for Harry?</p><p>Yes. </p><p>I have no regrets.</p><p>Leave a comment and let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Secrets Revealed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Arthur and Merlin have a long needed chat.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hiya! Not dead, here's a chapter. I'm hoping that after finals finish up (within the next two or three weeks) that I can spend break getting a few chapters written, so hopefully you'll get a lot more around the holidays.</p><p>Anyways, enjoy the chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The last thing that Merlin remembered clearly was the chanting in the woods, then a bright light. Everything after was a blur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, when he woke up in a place he did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>recognize, he panicked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Naturally, so did his magic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin shot up out of the bed he was in, looking around frantically for someone he recognized. He thought he heard something shatter, but was too busy trying to get out of the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm yourself!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A woman was next to him, dressed in white and red robes, saying, “Please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>relax</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m a Healer, I’m only here to help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cautiously, Merlin laid back down. He could feel his heart beating furiously in his ribcage. Where were Arthur and the other Knights? Hadn’t they been with him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where am I? Where are the people who were with me?” he asked as the woman fussed over him, shoving a glass of water in his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, they’re probably around here somewhere. I can fetch one of them, if that would make you more comfortable? I don’t like lots of people in my wing but if you’re going to panic the whole time while I look over you I suppose I can let </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>of them in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There will be no need for that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin turned towards a set of doors to find Arthur striding through, his head held high and sword sheathed at his side. Merlin relaxed a little at seeing him, Arthur looked calm. Wherever they were, they must be safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For now, anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could you let us have a moment alone?” Arthur asked the healer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, “Of course, of course. I’ll be right over there if you need anything, alright?” She gave Merlin a very stern look and he nodded. The Healer walked over to a door that must have led to an office. Only once the door was shut behind her did Arthur talk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She terrifies me. Reminds me a bit of Gaius,” Merlin said, sitting up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you remember?” Arthur asked, sitting down in a chair by the bed. Merlin tucked one of his knees under his chin and leaned on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About what?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened, how we got here,” Arthur said, his face stern. Merlin </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>when he shut down like that, it was impossible to tell if he was in trouble or if Arthur was joking around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He usually wasn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know...I guess I remember a lot of light and then we were someplace else? You all landed on top of me and probably broke a few ribs-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“-and then it's a blur,” Merlin said, rubbing his chest. It still felt a little sore, but he did just have six fully grown and armored men on top of him, so that was probably it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur pursed his lips and didn’t say anything for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to believe me if I tell you what's happened,” he said, still serious. Merlin was really losing hope that this wasn’t an elaborate joke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really don’t think you’ve got enough brains in your head to come up with anything fake, so I imagine it’ll all be true,” Merlin said with a smirk, trying to dispel some of the tension.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re in the future,” Arthur said, “Almost two thousand years. The Druids did something,” he continued, plowing on even though Merlin was fairly certain his eyebrows were one with his hair and his jaw was on the floor, “And we’re stuck here. We ended up in a castle that acts as a school for children. A...magic school. They teach it here, I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur just stared at him then, as if looking for a reaction. What the fuck was he </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to say to that? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry Arthur, no idea what happened, also are you going to kill a bunch of magic </span>
  </em>
  <span>children </span>
  <em>
    <span>now?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He instead said, “So...is this good or-?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur sighed, seemingly frustrated, “Merlin, when we arrived, the castle-they told me it’s imbued with...an </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredible </span>
  </em>
  <span>amount of magic, more than the average person has, I suppose. And when you came into the castle well...it was curious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Curious. The castle was...curious. Are you drunk? You sound drunk,” Merlin said, hoping this wasn’t going where he thought it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, it was attracted to you because </span>
  <em>
    <span>apparently</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you are a sorcerer. The likes of which just...doesn’t exit,” said Arthur, his voice rising and his tone bordering on angry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, Merlin supposed, made sense. He tried to say something but Arthur cut him off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were knocked unconscious and I thought you were going to die. But no, your magic, magic you never saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>fit</span>
  </em>
  <span> to tell me about, saved you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Arthur-,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. Do not try to talk your way out of this. I know you are a sorcerer Merlin, what I don’t know is why you never told me. Do you not trust me? After all these years?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin looked away, not wanting to meet his friend's eyes. This wasn’t how he wanted Arthur to find out about his magic at </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do trust you Arthur, but-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why didn’t you-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just shut up!” Merlin yelled, “For one second, let me get a word out, you peabrained </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur let out a huff, but stayed silent otherwise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Arthur, I know we’re friends,” Merlin started, wringing his hands, “And I know that you feel betrayed that I didn’t tell you about this. The sorcerers here, they weren’t wrong when they said there isn’t anyone like me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Arthur said, leaning forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so Merlin told him about the Druids, about being Emrys and about Kilgharrah and the prophecy. Arthur stayed silent through it all, even when Merlin showed him his magic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he finally finished, Arthur heaved a sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really do manage to put yourself in the worst possible situations, don’t you?” he said with a small smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin laughed, “I didn’t really choose this,” he said, looking down at his hands, “You-you’re not angry?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I understand,” Arthur said with a sigh, “This...Druid business isn’t your fault. And I cannot blame you for it. I am angry you didn’t tell me, that you didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>trust </span>
  </em>
  <span>me, but-I understand, I suppose, why you didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin feels like he might cry, “So you’re not going to have me killed when we return?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur smiles, the big, bright smile he reserves for when he is truly happy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I do that? I’d lose my best manservant.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What did you think? Don't be afraid to leave a comment if you noticed any errors or just want to say hi!</p><p>See ya next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. An Offer and a New Class</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The knights find something to do and Hermione Granger is ruthless.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As promised, heres a chapter. I've got the next one written and will probably upload it next week sometime.</p><p>Enjoy and Happy New Year!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Confusion was...an accurate word to describe Arthur's current emotions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Partially because of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re in the future </span>
  </em>
  <span>bit, but that was, surprisingly, not at the front of his mind at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Albus Dumbledore was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man was a teacher, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>headmaster,</span>
  </em>
  <span> at a school for sorcerers, yet that hadn’t been Arthur's first impression of the man. He had thought him a general, someone accustomed to war and leading such an act. Dumbledore held himself like a man used to being in charge and listened to, and it was clear that people saw him that way to. Arthur didn’t know what this man was doing leading a school, but obviously his power was either underestimated or unacknowledged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If it hadn’t been for his court training, Arthur may not have picked up on any of this. But for all of his flaws, Uther had at least taught his son how to read the throne room and find the biggest threats in it. This may not be the throne room of Camelot, but Arthur would not let his guard down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not even if Merlin could take every one of these sorcerers and </span>
  <em>
    <span>win.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>...At least, Merlin said he </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably </span>
  </em>
  <span>could. Arthur was fairly certain he was lying though, but it was nice to see that Merlin was still </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin,</span>
  </em>
  <span> even if he did have magic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been a recent and </span>
  <em>
    <span>jarring </span>
  </em>
  <span>development, but Arthur was truly ok with it. He had been intending to roll back some of the magic bans in Camelot anyways, seeing as they were outdated and frankly, causing more trouble than they fixed. Perhaps Merlin could contribute some ideas…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as he was about to voice this thought to Merlin, the doors of the Hospital Wing opened and his knights came through, accompanied by Dumbledore himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, you’re awake!” said Dumbledore, spreading his arms with a smile, “Wonderful! Now, I think it’s a good time to discuss where we go from here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dumbledore waved his wand and a set of plump blue chairs appeared around Merlin’s bed, enough for all the knights and himself. Gwaine threw himself on one, swinging his legs over the armrest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And where </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>we going from here your grace?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur sighed, “Attempt to get back to Camelot, I hope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dumbledore smiled, “Well of course! Now that he's awake, I was hoping Emrys here would help me look into a possible solution.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about the rest of us?” Percival said, leaning forward in his chair, “You can’t expect us to just sit around and do </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Dumbledore says, stroking his beard, “How do you feel about teaching?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin snorted, covering his mouth with his hand. Arthur hit him on the back of the head with a glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You…want us to teach magic?” Elyan said slowly, glancing at Arthur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not!” Dumbledore chuckled, “No, that would end terribly. However, it has been brought to my attention that we are sorely lacking in any </span>
  <em>
    <span>physical </span>
  </em>
  <span>education. Fitness and the like. I am not asking you to teach them to fight,” he says, glancing at their swords, “Just get them into physical shape!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” Merlin said with a chuckle, “Absolutely no way that this can go wrong, I tell you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur hit him on the back of the head again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you really sure you want us doing that?” Lancelot asked, crossing his arms, “I mean, we’ve only just come here, and you don’t know us. Quite a lot could go wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dumbledore let out a chuckle, “You’re correct. However, I do trust that you mean no harm to my students, regardless of your reservations about magic. You see, while Merlin’s story has lived on throughout history, so has your own.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The old man gestured to the knights and Arthur, his smile widening, “The Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur of Camelot are some of the most retold stories among both magic and muggle populations. Your kingdom may no longer stand, but you have not been forgotten.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine let out a bark of laughter, “You’re fucking with us. No way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m quite sure I am doing no such thing, Sir Gwaine. I shall leave you all to make your decision. Understand, of course,” Dumbledore says standing with a flourish, “That I shan’t hold it against you if you say no. Ta!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The old man glided out of the hospital wing, leaving behind a set of shell-shocked knights. Arthur...wasn’t sure how he felt about what had just happened. Were they really so well known?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do we do?” asked Elyan, turning to Arthur. The others did as well, looking to him for answers, “And do you believe what he says about us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He has no reason to lie,” Arthur says with a sigh, “We’re out of our element and he has more to offer us than we to him. I-I think it would be wise to accept his offer. If you are willing, of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah!” Gwaine said, his face splitting into a grin, “I’ve already talked to some of the kids, they’re a wild bunch I tell ya. It’ll be fun!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others responded in kind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Percival, you’re going to stay with Merlin. Regardless of how they’ve acted so far-and your own capabilities” Arthur added, seeing Merlin's glare, “Its best to be prepared. I’d rather you be safe than dead. The rest of us should be able to manage a bunch of children, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The knights showed up at dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry probably wouldn’t have noticed right away-he was exhausted, hungry, and had six separate essays to write. But the rest of the Great Hall </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>noticed, and were all quite vocal about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The five knights were on the end of the staff table (which had been extended to fit the extra people) along with King Arthur and-</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry hadn’t had a shift in the Hospital Wing today, so he was surprised to see the Wizard awake. Pomfrey hadn’t thought he would wake up for a few more days. But apparently he was right as rain and was laughing at something the knight next to him had said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry remembered what said knight had done last time they had met- Sir Gwaine certainly lived up to the chivalry aspect of knighthood if he was willing to help a crying kid in the middle of the night. It wasn’t one of Harry's proudest moments, but Sir Gwaine seemed like he would keep it to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least Harry hoped he would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione sat next to him with a huff, slamming her bookbag on the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you heard what the upper years are saying about that </span>
  <em>
    <span>toad?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she growled, stabbing her potatoes with her fork, “She's supposedly not letting us use magic!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can she do that?” Harry asked, grabbing a sandwich of a plate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea, but I swear if she does…” Hermione continued grumbling into her plate, occasionally stabbing something with...to much force. Ron showed up shortly after and started talking about the Quidditch try-outs set for next week. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>About half way through the meal, Dumbledore stood from his chair. A hush fell across the hall when everyone noticed. It was surreal how he could command a crowd like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Attention everyone! As you may have noticed, we are now hosting a few guests in the castle. May I introduce King Arthur of Camelot, Sirs Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Lancelot, and Leon of the Knights of the Round Table, and Merlin Wyllt, also known as Emrys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry thought Hogwarts had been loud when the Triwizard Tournament had been announced. If there had been a fan in the Great Hall, shit would have </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>hit it. Everyone started shouting at once, both in disbelief and shock. Dumbledore did not hesitate this time, quickly waving his wand with a loud bang, silencing the students.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“While I understand that confirmation of school gossip, especially of this magnitude, is a very big deal for you all, I would please ask that you refrain from outbursts until I finish speaking. Until we are able to return them to their own time, we will be hosting these fine young men, who have graciously agreed to hosting a fitness class to occupy their time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Several of the Quidditch players cheered at this fact, thrilled for the extra workouts. Ron nudged him with his elbow and pointed to the head table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at Umbridge! She looks right pissed, she does!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Umbridge did, in fact, look like she was about to burst a vein. Apparently no one had consulted her on the staff changes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please treat them with the same respect you have given to the Professors of our school in the past. Schedule changes will be handed out in the morning. Enjoy your evening all!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry snorted as students began filing out of the hall, whispering amongst themselves, “He had to specify professors of the past. I think he knows that none of us care for the toad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The grin on Hermione's face was downright </span>
  <em>
    <span>feral</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Harry had only seen her like that twice-the first time after she had broken Malfoys nose, the second after she had shown them Rita Skeeter trapped in a jar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Oh trust me. If she's truly not letting us use magic, I imagine she’ll get a lot of </span>
  <em>
    <span>respect </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the students</span>
  <em>
    <span>.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've got a list of fic recs on my Tumblr-Please take a look and support some of these wonderful authors during the New Year!</p><p>https://happylittletrees3.tumblr.com/post/639083244891095040/new-fics-for-the-new-year</p><p>See ya later!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Defense A La Toad</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The first DADA class for the Fifth years is...interesting. People yell, and the plotting begins.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Heya! Heres another chapter!</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dolores Umbridge did not deserve any respect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione Granger had already come to the conclusion that she did not like the woman, specifically for restricting their magic use in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Defence, </span>
  </em>
  <span>of all classes-the respect part though, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>became official when she walked into the classroom for the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was bright pink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every spot she could have possibly covered on the walls had pink frills and doilies and Hermione thought she would be sick right there and then out of sheer </span>
  <em>
    <span>spite.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Someone gagged behind her and she turned to find Pansy Parkinson looking like someone had fed her a plate of dog shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please tell me I’m hallucinating. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please, </span>
  </em>
  <span>let this be a fever dream,” she said, staring around the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not,” Hermione said, sitting down at the front of the classroom. Harry and Ron took seats behind her, looking as disgusted as she felt. Neither were really enthusiastic about sitting up front, and Hermione honestly couldn’t blame them at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kill me now,” Ron said, hitting his forehead on the desk. Parkinson sat down on the other side of her, studying the room like it had offended her but she wasn’t sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>how. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione blinked, not sure what was happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, Parkinson? Did...did you mean to sit there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brunette turned to stare at her, raising her eyebrow in an unspoken challenge, “Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that Granger?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione shook her head and focused on getting her books out. Worst case scenario she could just break her nose to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone else filed into the room fairly quickly after that, all equally disgusted with the decoration choices. Hermione flipped through the textbook (that she had already read) absentmindedly, marking which pages had content she wanted to bring up in class. Some of the information in this book was downright </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> and could put them in danger if they actually followed it’s instructions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, at this point, Hermione was fairly certain nobody was stupid enough to think any of this book was a logical, or even a good </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The bell rang and Umbridge walked up the center of the room, a sickly sweet grin plastered upon her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning students!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh that won’t do! You should all respond with ‘Good morning Professor Umbridge!’ Lets try again. Good morning students!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning Professor Umbridge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There we go! Now,” she said, waving her wand, “Please write down the course aims and read chapter one of your textbooks. There does not need to be any talking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione's hand shot up the minute that the Professor stopped talking. Umbridge looked her </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead in the eye,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and said nothing. Not a single word. Parkinson was giving Hermione a death glare from her seat, silently begging her to stop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Professor Umbridge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione had no plans to do so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Professor Umbridge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should be reading, Ms.-?”</span>
</p><p><span>“Granger, Ma’am. Hermione Granger. I’ve already done the reading. I actually had a question about-”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Then read the next chapter please.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“-I’ve read </span>
  <em>
    <span>that. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ve read the whole book. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Twice. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I have a question about your course aims.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parkinson's foot came down on Hermione's </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The girl was glaring even more intensely at her, because that was apparently possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Granger if you know what's good for you, you’ll shut </span>
  <em>
    <span>up,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she hissed under her breath. Hermione ignored her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ma’am, your course aims don’t say anything about </span>
  <em>
    <span>using </span>
  </em>
  <span>defensive magic. What's the point of this class if we can’t use magic?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione heard a soft thud and assumed Parkinson had slammed her forehead into the table. Umbridge let out a huff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why on earth would you have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>use </span>
  </em>
  <span>defensive magic my dear? Nothing in this classroom will harm you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But things outside of this class won’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione suddenly understood why Parkinson had been trying to get her to shut up. Umbridge wasn’t here to </span>
  <em>
    <span>teach. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She was here to </span>
  <em>
    <span>watch</span>
  </em>
  <span> on behalf of the Ministry, whose number one target had just opened his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry and Umbridge were having a tense staring match. The toad looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>proud of herself and was tapping her short, stubby wand on the palm of her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what, Mr. Potter, do you think will attempt to harm you outside of my classroom?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I don’t know-Maybe Lord Voldemort?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione followed Parkinson's example and hit her head on the desk. Oh, she shouldn’t have said a </span>
  <em>
    <span>word. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She was smarter than this </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>, shouldn’t she have seen this coming?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lord Voldemort died fourteen years ago-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And he came back last summer!” Harry said, standing abruptly, “You know it, the Ministry knows it! You can’t keep hiding it from people, they’re going to get </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Detention, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mr. Potter. Stop with these lies this </span>
  <em>
    <span>instant-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And for once, the blood won’t be on </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>hands!” Harry shouted, slamming his hand on the table. His statement was met with silence. Umbridge looked like she was about to pop a vein. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here, Mr. Potter,” she said, gesturing with her grubby fingers. Harry stormed up to the front of the classroom, the eyes of the silent students following him. Umbridge scribbled something on a pink slip of paper and handed it to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take this to your head of house. I’ll be seeing you for detention during this next week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry grabbed the slip of paper and stormed out of the room. Umbridge let out a small “tut” and smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should all know that behavior like that will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>be tolerated in my classroom. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>shall </span>
  </em>
  <span>be punished. You are all perfectly safe within and outside of this castle. The Ministry of Magic </span>
  <em>
    <span>ensures </span>
  </em>
  <span>it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Regardless of where the class stood on Voldemort's return, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>clear how they stood on their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione would put money on her lasting less than a month.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t realize it until after class was over, but someone had slipped a piece of paper into her bag. She had found it when looking for her quills, and as it was not in one of her folders for assignments or spare parchment it obviously wasn't hers. Hermione unfolded it, recognizing the wavy handwriting as Parkinson's. The Slytherin had practically shoved her notes at Hermione during class, asking her to proofread a passage that was already perfect. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione was starting to realize Slytherins did </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything </span>
  </em>
  <span>for a reason. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Granger-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bring Potter and Weasley to the old Alchemy classroom at midnight. It’s time to end this, here and now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something in Hermione's gut told her Parkinson wouldn’t be the only one there. She had already talked to Ron who had agreed to go, and they were waiting for Harry to get back from McGonagall's office to ask him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However this went, her friends would be by her side. What exactly Parkinson wanted to end was up for debate. Whichever way it went, Hermione was fairly certain that the </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch </span>
  </em>
  <span>posing as a competent professor was going to be on the receiving end of...whatever was happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And if she wasn’t, well…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione Granger wasn’t called the brightest witch of her age for nothing.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't have the next one written so idk when the next update will be. Hopefully within a couple of weeks. Hope you guys liked the last few updates though! We've got a final chapter count (unless I make changes it won't change drastically) so we've still got a lot to get through!</p><p>See ya when I see ya!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Reconciliation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This time, the midnight meeting of Slytherins and Gryffindor's goes better. No literal Cerberi are involved.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*posts here right after putting another story on a hiatus*</p><p>I'M SORRY THIS WAS THE ONE THING I WAS ABLE TO DO THIS WEEKEND</p><p>But for real, hope you guys enjoy this weeks chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In the last ten minutes Harry had cast half a dozen diagnosis charms on Hermione, all of which came back negative for any hallucinogenic drugs or head trauma. Even he had to agree that yes, Hermione was ok, and no, this wasn’t some drug induced plot to get them into Detention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>you’re doing that spell right mate?” Ron whispered as they stood outside the door to the Alchemy classroom, and Harry says </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes </span>
  </em>
  <span>for what felt like the hundredth time. He hadn’t messed the spell up, Hermione was fine if not a bit crazy at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, this is a bad idea. Don’t you remember what happened with Malfoy in first year?” Harry says, picking at his shirt sleeves. This is quite literally the last place he wants to be at the moment. He doesn’t have the energy to deal with some Slytherin plot to potentially murder them tonight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>remember that you were making rash decisions and almost got us killed,” she turns on her heels to face them, “And there's no Cerberus on the other side of this door, so we’re going to find out what Parkinson wants.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, she's certainly scary enough to be a Cerberus,” Ron says as Hermione opens the door, “Did you hear about what she did to Michael Corner?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll grow back,” Parkinson says from her position on top of a desk. She's filing her nails, the polish a dark red that Harry thinks looks a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>much like blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad to see you all made it,” says another voice, and Harry turns to see Zabini sitting on the floor with his legs pressed vertically onto the wall, tossing a small ball up into the air. It was...</span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely</span>
  </em>
  <span> odd to see the usually stoic Slytherin in such a casual position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, yes, what the fuck?” Ron says, gesturing at Zabini, “Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>high</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's illegal Weasley, do keep up,” Zabini responds, chucking the ball and Ron's face. He dodges, but barely, “Also why is that your first thought?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In his defense, you don’t usually act like this,” says another voice and Harry just wants to </span>
  <em>
    <span>run, </span>
  </em>
  <span>because Malfoy is standing in the corner picking at his nails. Parkinson hadn’t said who would be with her and Harry is kicking himself for not realizing the blond would be there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we going to keep commenting on Blaise's gayness or get on with it?” Parkinson says with a sigh, “I’m choosing to get on with it, so here's the deal Gryffindorks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Slytherin waves her wand and the door slams shut. Harry can feel the magic of a privacy charm taking hold, washing across their group. Parkinson leans forward, crossing her arms on her knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to end the Slytherin-Gryffindor feud.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry blinks, attempting to process what she just said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Temporarily, of course,” Parkinson continues with a wave of her hand, “The fights are quite entertaining you know, I won’t stop you from continuing them once we’re finished. But we’ve got a bigger problem than whose dicks are longer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Umbridge,” Hermione nods, seeming to understand whatever's happening. She doesn’t seem like she's in shock, not like Ron looks and Harry feels. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’know I think Parkinsons the one on drugs,” Ron says, slightly dazed, “Maybe Hermione too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Umbridge is a threat, one we can’t deal with alone,” Zabini says, standing up, “And she </span>
  <em>
    <span>needs </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be dealt with.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, hold on, I’m not following,” Harry says, rubbing his temples, “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>Umbridge gone? I would have thought you guys, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>people, would be jumping on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>let's help the ministry screw things over </span>
  </em>
  <span>train.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mocking tone was probably unnecessary but it had been a long day so Harry felt justified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, messing up the gelled style. Harry realizes with a pang that the blond looks a lot better without the restriction on his hair and immediately shoves those emotions in a deep, </span>
  <em>
    <span>dark </span>
  </em>
  <span>hole because now is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Normally, yes, we’d be </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy </span>
  </em>
  <span>to sit back and let you run your mouth. I could care </span>
  <em>
    <span>less </span>
  </em>
  <span>what happens to any of you, but things have changed. We-,” He gestures to Parkinson and Zabini “are in our parents pockets and usually have no choice but to listen to what they say and do it. Right now that's letting Umbridge terrorize the school, because if you’re focused on that you’re not focused on the Dark Lord's attempt at overtaking the Ministry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t include me in this Draco, you know my mother would let me get away with murder and has </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>love for that twat of a Dark Lord,” Zabini chuckles, and Harry doesn’t think the murder bit was meant to be a joke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Dark Lord is back. We’re not here to debate that. I mean, my father wants me </span>
  <em>
    <span>marked-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?!?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hermione screeches, mouth agape, “You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>marked?!?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Malfoy says, eyes widening, “I haven’t been marked!” He rolls up his sleeves, showing two bare forearms before he's even asked to, “Father </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants </span>
  </em>
  <span>me to be marked but I do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>want that. The Dark Lord is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>psychopath, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and I want no part in his plans.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy huffs out a shaky breath after that, and Parkinson lets out a laugh that's bordering on a cackle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice to finally say that out loud, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy doesn’t say anything, just stares at the floor with vacant eyes. Harry feels his heart begin to hammer in his chest for some reason he can’t identify.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really don’t want him to win, do you?” he whispers. Malfoy looks up, staring into Harry's eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. I didn’t have a chance to get out before now so...I’m taking it, I guess. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> what am I </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Malfoy looks like he's trying to decide if he wants to start crying or laughing, and Harry thinks that the Slytherin might do both. Parkinson walks over to sit by him, putting an arm around his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What changed?” Hermione asks, looking at the gathered Slytherins, “Why are you choosing to do something about this </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>and not at the end of last year?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Arthur Pendragon isn’t called the Once and Future King for shits and giggles,” Zabini says with a shrug, “He's back and so is Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table and chances are high they won’t be siding with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Moldyfarts</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The odds of things going in favor of your side winning this war went up significantly, and we’re taking the opportunity to choose the side we </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to instead of the one we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>forced </span>
  </em>
  <span>to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ron lets out a shaky laugh, “No. No way is this happening. It's a trap, right ‘Mione? It </span>
  <em>
    <span>has </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think it is Ron. I mean-it makes </span>
  <em>
    <span>sense</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Ron shouts, burying his face in his hands, “I know, and I hate it. I’d do the same damn thing in their position and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate </span>
  </em>
  <span>it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, so let me get this straight,” Harry says, “You want out, we can get that arranged I guess. What does that have to do with Umbridge?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy laughs, “Oh, she's got to go regardless, we’re all going to fail our OWLS if she stays. That's where the </span>
  <em>
    <span>official</span>
  </em>
  <span> truce comes in. We work together to either get her out or teach ourselves. Preferably both. And since we’re alienating ourselves from our families anyways there's no harm in fighting the Ministry too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what do you mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ministry</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Ron asks, before slapping himself on the forehead, “Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m stupid. She's from the Ministry, isn’t she?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad you caught up,” Parkinson says with a smirk, “So are you in?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People aren’t going to like this,” Hermione mutters with a glance to Harry, “You know that right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly? Fuck them,” he says, firing off finger guns towards Zabini who laughs, “Can we go to bed now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, seriously?” Parkinson says, raising an eyebrow, “You’re just going to accept this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean we can always go back to fighting each other afterwards,” Ron says with a shrug, “Besides, you heard what the Sorting Hat said: </span>
  <em>
    <span>we must unite inside her, or we'll crumble from within. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It's probably a good idea to listen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ron's unusually somber as he says this, and the fact that even he can’t crack a joke about slimy Slytherins shows the severity of the situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wonderful!” Parkinson says, accenting her exclamation with a clap of her hands, “We’ve already contacted members of the other houses about the whole fighting the government thing, the other one is just between us and anyone else who wants out, we’ll ask around for that one. Have any interested Gryffindor's meet at the Hogs Head on the Hogsmeade weekend so we can discuss where we go from here regarding our new toad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stands with a flourish, leaving with Zabini and Malfoy following close behind her. Malfoy hesitates, turning to the Gryffindor's at the last second with his hand resting on the doorframe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. For how I’ve treated you the last few years. You didn’t deserve it, and it took me too long to realize I was wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tries to leave before any of them respond, but Harry snatches his wrist before he can.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he says, trying to ignore the heat rising in his face, why is that </span>
  <em>
    <span>happening?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I don’t forgive you, not now, but you saying that means a lot. Give it some time, yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy nods, and as they walk back to Gryffindor tower Harry tries his best to forget that the Slytherin was blushing too.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So...yeah some tags are a changing!</p><p>Thoughts on our latest development?</p><p>Next time: The knights try their hand at teaching</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Even Knights Can Teach</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A class period and a long needed discussion.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Apologies this took so long, but I'm not in fact dead!</p><p>I feel like I say that every chapter...oh well.</p><p>On with the show!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Arthur was beginning to regret some of his life choices at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Specifically the one where he agreed to teach a bunch of </span>
  <em>
    <span>children. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine let out a huff next to him, readjusting the combat dummy in his arms, “I thought we weren’t supposed to be teaching them any combat, sire?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Personally,” Arthur said, setting down the dummy he was holding with a grunt, “I think that's a terrible idea, so we’re doing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll probably get yelled at.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was only specified that we not show them how to use </span>
  <em>
    <span>swords. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Physical defense is acceptable by the predetermined standards,” Arthur smiled, and patted Gwaine on the shoulder, “We’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>done nothing wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought Merlin was the rule breaker in your relationship,” Gwaine said with a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's that supposed to mean?” Arthur asked, crossing his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, look, students!” Gwaine, shouts, walking over to the crowd beginning to form by the castle. Arthur goes to whack him on the back of the head but misses, and resists the urge to give Gwaine a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>rude gesture as the knight runs away laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine and him were leading the classes for fifth years and up. Elyan, Lancelot, and Leon had the younger classes and were somewhere on the other side of the grounds teaching whichever students they had at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Currently, the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins had class. Most had dressed in clothing fit for physical activity, but some seemed to be wearing odd robes and leather pads. He didn’t really question it, there was probably a reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the students came up to him, holding out a note. She was dark skinned and had her hair pulled back in dozens of braids, tied up in a bunch at the back of her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m supposed to give you this note from Professor McGonagall-we just came from her class. Harry had to go help in the Hospital Wing this period, there was a Potions accident in the first year's class and I guess several students have antlers now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you Ms.-?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Granger. Hermione Granger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you then, Ms. Granger. All right everyone!” he yelled, addressing the class as a whole, “Lets see what you can do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>They could do very little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were stubborn, Arthur would give them that. But they had very little stamina and even less coordination. The students who showed up in robes and leather pads had some skills, and when asked they attributed it to Quidditch training.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>...Whatever </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The general consensus after a week of classes was that they were starting from square one. They decided to just play games and do runs with the younger students, and focus on the basics of self-defense. They were young, and none of the knights wanted to force them to push their bodies past their limits. The older students would focus on more rigorous self defense and exercise, and they would work with what they had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur had doubted the classes at first: it seemed, to put it bluntly, stupid. But Dumbledore had been right to ask them to lead the classes. The other option was pacing around the castle, and at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>teaching, </span>
  </em>
  <span>however unusual, gave them something to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their class was only held once a week for each group, so the knights were helping Merlin with his search in their spare time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Boring was one way to put that endeavor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This was a terrible decision, really,” Gwaine says for what feels like the fifth time, “Is this what you do every time something magic tries to kill Arthur?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Gaius usually knows how to handle it to tell the truth. I just-poof, problem gone I guess,” Merlin says, tossing another book to the side. They’re sitting in the sitting area attached to their rooms, and any available space is either filled with a warm body or cold books. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shocker, Gaius is the brains of Camelot's underground magic operations,” Elyan says, tossing a book at Percival who catches it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll damage them if you keep doing that!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They can be fixed with magic, can’t they?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Probably, but we shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>test </span>
  </em>
  <span>that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two continued bickering for a while and Arthur went back to his reading. Time ticked on and he had not read any further than the page he had been on previously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Arthur?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin had moved to sit next to him on the couch and was taking the book from his hands. The others had disappeared, likely off to their rooms. How long had he been stuck in his head for?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re exhausted, you need to rest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You very much </span>
  <em>
    <span>are, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>make </span>
  </em>
  <span>you get in your bed even without magic. You’re doing everything you can Arthur. Camelot will have its king back soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur smiled, “And its court sorcerer as well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin blinked, eyebrows furrowing, “You’re joking. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are, </span>
  </em>
  <span>aren’t you? Very funny, go to bed now please </span>
  <em>
    <span>Your Highness,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Merlin stood to leave, but Arthur leapt up after him, grabbing his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin I’m not joking. I want you to-I </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>you to stand by my side and </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay </span>
  </em>
  <span>there, whatever may come. You have magic, you can show the people that it's not something to be feared, we can start welcoming magic back to the kingdom! Isn’t that what you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin stared at him, gaping, “You-you’re serious?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded, “I’ve been thinking about it since you told me. I intended to repeal those laws anyway. This is a good way to do it, and to honor you for all the times you saved me without me ever knowing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to do that Arthur, I don’t need a </span>
  <em>
    <span>reward-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would regardless because I trust you. You are my </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Merlin, and even that cannot describe what we have! I trust you more than anyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Merlin didn’t say anything for a long, long time. Arthur worried that he had overstepped-maybe this wasn’t a good idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no-Merlin threw himself at Arthur seconds later, grasping in a hug so tight he thought he could no longer breath. His chest rose and fell with sobs, and Arthur returned the hug just as tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you Arthur. You have no idea how much this means-</span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They did not separate for some time, and when they did it was not as Master and Servant, but as King and Court Sorcerer.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you thought! Comments influence my writing with WIPs like this, as the half a dozen of you or so asking about Murther may have realized! Its there! You didn't misread the gay context I swear its intentional!</p><p>Ask and you shall receive. </p><p>Final note: I'm taking one-shot requests on my Tumblr now! Find me @happylittletrees3 over there to see the rules and drop an ask if you want to!</p><p>Until next time guys, gals, and nonbinary pals!</p><p>(I know its the wrong fandom but it WORKS so I'll gladly use it)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Detention</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry is naturally angsty after his detention, and Gwaine does NOT approve.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Heya! I responded to a comment earlier today saying I would have a new chapter out soon and ngl I didn't think it would be done this soon. But it is so yay for us!</p><p>This chapter is an angsty one, it covers the quill detention and Harry gets angsty so I'm putting a full TW in the end notes due to the whole thing including some spoilers. Anyone who thinks they could be triggered should PLEASE LOOK DOWN THERE for this chapter. I'll try to include them at the beginning as often as I can but they are spoiler-y for this round so I thought it would be better than not including them at all. </p><p>On with the show!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Harry didn’t have a particularly outlandish opinion of the color pink-quite honestly he didn’t mind it. It was nice enough he guessed, and if you liked it you liked it. End of story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Umbridge though-he was fairly certain she ruined the color for </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone, </span>
  </em>
  <span>impartial or obsessed it could now only be associated with that she-devil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Defense Office! </span>
  </em>
  <span>That room had been his safe space during third year-any time he needed some quiet time or just a nice cup of tea and </span>
  <em>
    <span>peace </span>
  </em>
  <span>Remus had let him in. The room had transformed from a homey office filled with books and plants to a nauseating combination of frills, pink, and decorative cat plates that not even Mrs. Figg would touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The toad who owned said plates sat behind her desk, shockingly </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>pink, a regular wood one (why was he noticing </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>of all things?).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello Mr. Potter. Take a seat, won’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry sat down in the chair across from hers behind the small desk. She stood, walking over with a piece of parchment and a quill which she sat down in front of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll be doing lines for me tonight Mr. Potter, with this quill here. I’d like you to write </span>
  <em>
    <span>I must not tell lies.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many times would you like me to write it </span>
  <em>
    <span>Professor?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, until the message </span>
  <em>
    <span>sinks in</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t given me any ink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t need it, dear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry frowned. The sleek black quill in front of him didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>like one of the self inking quills he saw in Flourish and Blotts. Maybe it was special ordered? But why would she give it to him during </span>
  <em>
    <span>detention-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please start Mr. Potter, or we’ll have to continue this next week as well as this one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let out a soft huff in lieu of the cursing he would have liked to spew and started writing out the lines. The ink was bright red, and as he kept writing the rows the back of his hand started to itch. He turned to scratch it, and suddenly was glad he had skipped dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The words </span>
  <em>
    <span>I must not tell lies </span>
  </em>
  <span>were carved into his hand in his own writing. The cuts weren’t very deep (yet) but they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>there, </span>
  </em>
  <span>holy </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Harry quickly swallowed the bile rising in his throat, trying not to get sick. She had him writing in his own </span>
  <em>
    <span>blood, </span>
  </em>
  <span>what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is something wrong, Mr. Potter?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up at Umbridge, who had a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face. He wanted to overturn the desk and storm out, he wanted to go to Dumbledore and McGonagall and the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aurors, </span>
  </em>
  <span>this couldn’t be legal!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Part of Harry was constantly stuck in a cupboard under the stairs. Part of Harry knew from </span>
  <em>
    <span>experience </span>
  </em>
  <span>that if he told someone, there was a chance he wouldn’t be believed and whatever punishment that came after would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He was ashamed of that-ashamed that the bloody </span>
  <em>
    <span>poster boy </span>
  </em>
  <span>for Gryffindor couldn’t muster up enough courage to tell people when things were rough because he could handle it, couldn’t he? It couldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad right? The consequences of being wrong were always worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry wasn’t brave enough to stand up for himself, let alone the </span>
  <em>
    <span>countless </span>
  </em>
  <span>people who thought he was their savior.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t even brave enough to save Cedric. How was he supposed to save everyone else?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No ma’am. Everything's just fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry was finally going back towards the Gryffindor common room at almost one in the morning. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>his detention had ended around eleven but he had to go to the Hospital Wing, he had just carved his </span>
  <em>
    <span>hand open </span>
  </em>
  <span>for fucks sake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There might have been a slight panic attack/sob session before he made it there but no one but the portraits would know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madam Pomphrey had an open door policy when it came to the Hospital Wing-if you were desperate enough to break in, there was an unlocked cabinet with stuff that wouldn’t immediately kill you and that a teenager probably needed at one in the morning. In Harry's experience, there were no questions asked but she didn’t even offer an opportunity to ask the questions so...</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Normally </span>
  </em>
  <span>the people who broke into the Hospital Wing at one in the morning needed simple things like bruise balm (admitting you got stuck in the trick stair and fell down the whole flight was never fun) or the magical Plan B potion (Harry was starting to get the feeling he wouldn’t be in </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>position and he didn’t know how to feel about that) but the basic healing potions were all in the same cabinet, so after grabbing some dittany and bandages he locked himself in the bathroom down the hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, the wound didn’t seem to be cursed so after </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely not crying any more </span>
  </em>
  <span>and soaking it in dittany for a bit he decided to pocket the bandages and head back to Gryffindor tower. Might as well let it air out overnight and wrap it in the morning so no one saw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, </span>
  <em>
    <span>usually </span>
  </em>
  <span>by one in the morning, the teachers had stopped patrolling the corridors. But he was Harry Potter, and luck was not on his side ninety-nine percent of the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, naturally, he ran directly into someone the minute he stepped out of the bathroom. The figure grabbed him by the wrists to steady Harry, who was about to fall down to the ground from the sudden crash.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not breaking any rules!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh wonderful, me neither in that case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Sir Gwaine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knight in question let go of his wrists with a smirk barely visible in the dim light from the windows, “Apologies! I didn’t mean to startle you. You’re midnight gallivanting is safe with me, don’t worry. Drop the ‘sir’ by the way, it makes me sound like a stuck up twat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry blinked, trying to calm himself down. He wasn’t in trouble, it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh, alright. Um...I’m just gonna go then. It's late, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll walk with you! Our quarters aren’t far apart and besides, you shouldn’t be walking alone at night. Adult supervision and all that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You count as an adult?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry laughed and started walking down the hall, “Why are you awake?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, I’m not actually sure. Happens sometimes. Yourself?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh...I had detention.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not just now getting out are you? It's well past midnight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no I was...wandering. Yeah.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine furrowed his eyebrows with a frown, stopping under an archway, “Harry, why are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>still awake?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I tripped and needed to run to the Hospital Wing to grab a bandage real quick, it's no big deal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>the conversation Harry wanted to be having right now. He tried to leave up the stairs but Gwaine grabbed his wrist, pulling Harry back towards him and the light of a nearby window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry if you’re hurt-the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell </span>
  </em>
  <span>is this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine was staring down at his right hand where the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>I must not tell lies </span>
  </em>
  <span>were barely visible in the moonlight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I had detention-,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were forced to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>to yourself for detention?!? I thought that was supposed to be punishment for minor things, not bloody </span>
  <em>
    <span>torture!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was Umbridge, I don’t think she particularly </span>
  <em>
    <span>cares </span>
  </em>
  <span>about our well being as students if you haven’t noticed!” Harry snapped, yanking his hand away from Gwaine, “I’m fine anyways, I already treated it and there's no Dark magic or anything so I’m not gonna drop dead or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Harry </span>
  </em>
  <span>what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look just drop it ok? I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to tell someone-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It never fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>works!</span>
  </em>
  <span> What's the point? It's just going to backfire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two stood there in silence. Gwaine looked like he was about to cry and Harry </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>it, he hated the pity, he hated the stares, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he just wanted to go to bed.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight Gwaine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry turned and bolted up the stairs, not caring that Gwaine didn’t follow. It didn’t matter anyways, Harry knew the knight couldn’t do anything about this if he wanted to, and he shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to should he? Harry was a bloody Gryffindor! Besides, he had detention for a week, it wasn’t like this was the last of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he finally made it back to his dorm, all he could think about was that maybe the hat was right when it said he would do better in Slytherin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t brave enough to be called a Gryffindor. Not by a long shot.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>TW for blood mentions, self-depreciation, self-harm (blood quill), death mentions, allusion to abuse and neglect (cupboard and verbal demeaning/constant put downs and the resulting view of oneself after being treated like this), mention of a panic attack and crying.</p><p>I think thats all of them but if you think another should be included NEVER HESITATE TO LET ME KNOW. </p><p>Let me know what you thought of the chapter!</p><p> Also fun fact: Gwaines name always ends up with the red autocorrect line because apparently it doesn't exist as a word. Options to name our knight buddy instead of his real name include: Gains, Grains, and Gaines. Yes, lovely Sir Grains of the Round Table at your service.</p><p>Next time: Gwaine tells people because hes a good big brother figure. Shit is starting to be thrown at the fan.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Caught</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gwaine does not keep his mouth shut.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Heya! This chapter is a shorter one, a lot more goes down in the next couple but this needed to be said and its to big to shove into another chapter so its just a short one. </p><p>TW for discussion of the blood quill injuries and allowing oneself to be physically hurt by others, as well as some behavior that results from Harry being abused.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Gwaine practically ran down the halls of Hogwarts, barely stopping at Merryweather’s portrait to give the password. Honestly, he was seconds away from just tearing the portrait off the wall, he was so pissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could that pink she-devil get away with this? There was no </span>
  <em>
    <span>way </span>
  </em>
  <span>that was legal, even Uther would have thought that too far, if he could have been forced to ignore the magic!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Harry acted like it wasn’t a big deal, dear </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>what on earth has that kid </span>
  <em>
    <span>been </span>
  </em>
  <span>through if he thinks its not serious that hes being treated like that, by an adult charged with his safety no less?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur and Merlin were sitting in the common area of their suite, pouring over stacks of books and papers. Elyan and Percival were studiously guarding the pair, which meant they were stacking books on a sleeping Lancelot. Gwanie grabbed one and threw it on the ground. The bang woke Lancelot, who sent the stacks of books on top of him tumbling to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have a problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morgana?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mordred?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit is it dragons?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no!” Gwaine says sitting down on a chair, “That Umbridge lady who's teaching the magical defense class? She's forcing students to cut their hands open as a </span>
  <em>
    <span>punishment.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Arthur says, sitting up a little straighter, “Punishment for what exactly?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does it really matter?” Merlin asked, “They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>kids, </span>
  </em>
  <span>they shouldn’t be forced to do that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you find this out?” Elyan asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ran into Harry, that kid from the Hospital Wing? His hand had the words “I must not tell lies” carved into it, says he got it in detention and that has to go back for the rest of the week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's barbaric!” Lancelot says, looking disgusted, “I heard some of the students talking about him receiving detention, it was supposedly for speaking out against the teacher spreading lies about the ongoing </span>
  <em>
    <span>war!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“There's a war going on right now?” Arthur asks, looking shocked, “And a government official is lying to the peoples faces about it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Essentially,” Lancelot says, “At least that's what I’ve heard around the castle. They seem to be split on who they believe though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine groans, “Look their war doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>matter </span>
  </em>
  <span>right now! What matters is that the woman is harming </span>
  <em>
    <span>children</span>
  </em>
  <span> and if she's allowed to get away with it now who knows what she’ll try later!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you tell Harry to report it to one of the staff members who are </span>
  <em>
    <span>qualified </span>
  </em>
  <span>for this?” Percival asks, “I mean there's not much we can do, is there? We’re guests.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He-he won’t” Gwaine says, running a hand through his hair, “He seemed scared that no one would believe him and the repercussions of that would be worse. We have to do something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's late,” Arthur says in a comforting tone, “And he’s no longer there. Tomorrow, before dinner, we will tell another member of the staff. Gwaine, you will come with me and Merlin to do so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are there any other students hurt?” Merlin asks, rifling through a book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Gwaine says, “I think Harry was the only one there tonight, he doesn’t seem the type to let other people suffer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But he's fine with himself being in that position?” Elyan says, frowning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He's being stubborn,” Gwaine says, “I don’t think he really understands how </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>this is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur stands with a sigh, “This conversation can continue tomorrow when we’ve all had rest. We won’t let it happen again,” he says, shooting a pointed look at Gwaine, “We </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But we need to be rested in order to take her down. I highly doubt they condone harming the students like that here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gwaine nods, and the group parts for bed. He can’t help but feel he's missing something-something with the war. Why </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>a teacher, who's also a government official, not want the truth about a war getting out?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turns over in bed, staring at the wall. Gwaine doesn’t sleep well that night, his mind occupied with dreams of bleeding hands and conspiring toads in pink suits. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What did ya think? </p><p>Once again Gwaines name does not exist according to squiggly red lines and neither does Elyans apparently.</p><p>See you guys next time!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No solid updating schedule now-Subscribe for notifications.</p><p>Leave a comment and let me know what you thought! I love hearing from readers. See you next time!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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